Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 7

Author: Bowen, A.W., & Co., firm, publishers, Chicago
Publication date: [19-?]
Publisher: Chicago : A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1374

USA > Montana > Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1 > Part 7

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At the age of eleven years, George J. Bach be- . came an inmate of the home of his aunt, whom he accompanied to Helena, in the schools of which city he completed his education. He then entered the employ of Charles Lehman, with whom he held a clerkship for nearly two years in Helena, when he went to Cottonwood, Fergus county, as assist- ant in Mr. Lehman's store at that place, and even- tually he became manager of the business for five years. He then opened and took the manage- ment of Mr. Lehman's store at Lewistown for two years. Removing then to Utica, he engaged in general merchandising for himself, and conducted a successful enterprise for five years, when he disposed of it in 1899 to the T. C. Power Mer- cantile Company.

Mr. Bach then returned to Lewistown and effected the organization of the' Judith Basin Bank, of which he has been cashier from the first. In 1890 Mr. Bach and George W. Cook purchased the Judith flouring mill, in Lewistown, and he still retains one-half interest in this plant, which is sup- plied with a thoroughly modern equipment. In politics Mr. Bach has never been active, though he has not failed to perform the duties of citizen- ship as a Republican, doing all in his power to con- serve good government in county and city affairs. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He has been successful in business through his efforts and is held in high esteem.

On the 4th of May, 1890, Mr. Bach was united in marriage to Miss Anne R. Corbin, who was born in the state of New York and the daughter of Edwin E. Corbin, now deceased. They have three children, A. Marie, Ralph E. and Margaret E.

LFRED BALMFORTH .- One of the pro- A gressive and representative business men of Silver Bow county, who has attained promi- nence in the industrial world entirely through his

own efforts, is Alfred Balmforth, who has prac- tically depended upon his own resources from the age of thirteen. His home is in the attractive vil- lage of Centerville, but his business interests are mainly centered in Butte. He is a native of Belle- ville, Ill., where he was born September 14, 1857, the elder of the two children of his parents. His father, Charles Balmforth, was born in England, where he married Martha Lumm, who died in her native land, whither the family eventually returned. Charles Balmforth came to the United States with his wife about 1853, and engaged for a number of years in mercantile pursuits in Belleville, Ill., al- though in his native land he was a coal miner. He is now living in Salt Lake, Utah.

Alfred Balmforth accompanied his parents on their return to England, where he received his early educational discipline, while, after returning to the United States he attended school at Steu- benville, Ohio, and at Salt Lake City, Utah. He left home at the age of thirteen and made his way to Idaho, where he found employment in the placer mines, receiving some assistance from Col. George L. Shoup, who was once governor of that state. In 1875 Mr. Balıforth returned to Utah, where he was identified with mining operations until 1881, when he came to Butte, Mont., where he mined for a time. He met with fair success in this enter- prise for a number of years, and in 1888 he en- tered the employ of Wheeler & Luxton who con- ducted a meat business, and later he formed a partnership with Levi Cartier. They purchased the business of Wheeler & Luxton and conducted it for three years when Mr. Balmforth acquired his partner's interest, and has since conducted it, though he is not actively engaged in the work as in former years, his success having enabled him to greatly extend his field of financial and business operations. He is at present a stockholder in the Butte Butchering Company, the largest indus- try of the kind in this section of the state, and is also a stockholder in the Silver Bow Bank and a member of its directorate. He owns a fine fruit ranch in the Bitter Root valley, and is also the owner of valuable realty in Centreville, including his handsome residence. In politics Mr. Balm- forth gives allegiance to the Democratic party, but has never been the incumbent of public office.

Of the time-honored fraternity of Free and Ac- cepted Masons Mr. Balmforth is a prominent mem- ber, and is one of the most influential representa- tives of the order in the state. In 1879 he be- came an entered apprentice in Argenta Lodge No.

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

3, A. F. & A. M., at Salt Lake, from which he was later dimitted to Butte Lodge No. 22, having pre- viously been raised to the master's degree. He has served as junior and senior warden of the blue lodge and also as worshipful master. His capitu- lar membership is in Deer Lodge Chapter No. 3, of which he has served as high priest ; the chivalric degrees were conferred upon him in Montana Commandery No. 3, of which he was eminent com- mander in 1899. He is a member of the grand chapter of Montana, and is a past grand higi priest. He has also gained the patent of nobility of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine in Algeria Temple, Helena. Mr.

Balmforth is a member of the Knights of Con- stantine, in Great Falls, and the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. On Dec. 2, 1880, in Salt Lake City, Mr. Balmforth married with Miss Mary Crockwell, who was born in Iowa, the daughter of Dr. J. D. M. Crockwell, a prominent physician of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Balmforth have one son, Alfred John, now a student in the School of Mines in Butte.

BANK OF FERGUS COUNTY .- Of.the lines of industry which make the sum total of ma- terial wealth and prosperity of a community there is none more essential than that involved in its banking institutions. They facilitate business to such a degree that the withdrawal of their aid would almost completely block the wheels of com- merce, lapse to the crude condition of uncivilized countries. Banks are the custodians of the credit of a community, the conservators of its commerce, progress and prosperity, and in general advance- ment no factor is of greater significance.

The Bank of Fergus County is the leading one of a large area and dates its inception back to 1887, when it was organized and incorporated under the laws of the state of Montana, with a capital stock of $50,000 and officers as follows: S. S. Hobson, president ; T. C. Power, vice-president ; James H. Moe, cashier, and Frank E. Wright, assistant cash- ier. Mr. Hobson still retains the presidency. Hon. Thomas C. Power, the well-known banker and cap- italist of Helena, resigned his position as vice-pres- ident in 1899, and was succeeded by L. W. Eld- ridge. Mr. Moe died in 1895 and was succeeded by Mr. Wright, who is still in office, and at the

same time Austin W. Warr was made assistant cashier. The capital stock has been increased on three different occasions, and in 1892 it was placed at the noteworthy figure of $200,000, while the financial condition of the bank is otherwise indi- cated in its surplus and undivided profits, which now aggregate over $100,000. In addition to the executive officers the directorate includes Messrs. Perry W. McAdow, Jacob Holzemer, L. H. Hamil- ton, W. D. Symmes and T. C. Power, all men of high financial standing. The deposits of the bank aggregate $500,000, and it is one of the most sub- stantial and important monetary concerns in the state.

Frank E. Wright, the cashier, is a native of Inde- pendence, Iowa, where he was born on the 23d of December, 1857, the son of Edmund and Sarah E. (Walton) Wright, the former of whom was born in England and the latter in New. York. The father of Edmund Wright came to the United States in 1835, when a child, his parents settling in western New York, where he was reared and educated. He was a car- penter and builder and a successful one. In 1855 he removed to Iowa, where he lived until 1861, when he returned to New York, locating in Penn Yan, where he and his wife have since made their home. They have five sons, William, a resi- dent of Elmira, N. Y .; Frank E., the subject of this review, Charles E., Edmund and Arthur, all of Lewistown, Mont., and two daughters, Ella (Mrs. Henry Fish), of Rochester, N. Y .; and Jessie M., now of Albany, N. Y.

Frank E. Wright was a lad of four years when his parents returned to New York, and there he was reared to maturity, and educated. He began practi- cal business life as clerk in a mercantile establish- ment at Penn Yan, N. Y., where he remained until 1880, when he came to Helena, Mont., where he entered the office of Massena Bullard, the distin- guished attorney, as a clerk. Here he remained until November, 1880, when he removed to Phillips- burg, and was employed until 1882 in the office of a mining company. In 1882 also Mr. Wright came to Fergus county and located at Utica, where he was engaged in merchandising until 1887. Upon the organization of Fergus county he was elected its first treasurer, in 1887, and this led to his removal to Lewistown. He held this important office for eight years, and during this time was also assistant cashier of the Bank of Fergus County, which was organized in the same year. He was later promoted

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

to his present position as cashier of this important institution, to whose affairs he has given close at- tention. His ability has done much to promote its growth and conservative and successful operation. Mr. Wright also has important mining and sheep properties in Judith Basin, and the North Moccasin mountains. He was the original owner of the Whisky Gulch mine and now owns a large interest in it. Mr. Wright gives loyal and unqualified allegiance to the Republican party, in whose cause he has served for some time as a member of the state central committee. Frater- nally he is a popular member of the Masonic order, in which he has passed the chivalric degrees, having been "constituted, created and dubbed" a Knight Templar in Black Eagle Commandery at Great Falls. He also affiliates with the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks.

At Penn Yan, N. Y., on the 30th of July, 1891, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wright to Miss Minnie Sloane, also a native of the Old Empire state, being the daughter of Maj. John Barnett Sloane, a prominent citizen of Penn Yan, who was killed at the battle of Petersburg in the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Wright have no children.

G EORGE H., BARBOUR, M. D .- One of the representative members of the medical fra- ternity in Helena, one who holds high rank in his profession and whose ability and courtesy have won him the confidence and supporting patronage of a large class of citizens, is George H. Barbour, M. D., who was born in Falmouth, Ky., on April 24, 1861, the son of Dr. James and Emeline (Hauser) Barbour, natives of Ohio and Kentucky. His father, likewise a physician and surgeon, is a graduate of the Ohio Medical College at Cincin- nati, and is now in medical practice at Falmouth. Nathaniel Barbour, father of Dr. James Barbour, was a native of New Jersey and one of the early settlers of Cincinnati, where he was a merchant for many years and where his death occurred. Dr. James Barbour married Miss Emeline Hauser, a sister of Gov. S. T. Hauser, of Helena, to whom specific reference is made on other pages of this work.

George H. Barbour received his literary educa- tion in Center College at Danville, Ky., where he was graduated in 1883, and under the careful and effective preceptorage of his father he soon began

reading medicine, thus continuing until 1884, when he matriculated in the paternal alma mater, the Ohio Medical College, where he was graduated in the class of 1885-a circumstance indicative of the thoroughness of his preliminary study and investi- gation. Dr. Barber established himself in the practice of his profession in Helena in 1887, and here he has since continued, witnessing the growth and material advancement of the city and he has secured a practice of unmistakably representative character. He keeps abreast of the advances made in the sciences of medicine and surgery, is a close and indefatigable student, is in close touch with advanced thought in his profession, and he is a member of the state and county medical societies and enjoys popularity in the professional and social circles of the city. He is also a member of the state medical examining board. In 1896 was cele- brated the marriage of Dr. Barbour and Miss Susie Raleigh, a native of Missouri, and they are the parents of twin sons, Raleigh W. and Philip.

G EORGE W. BARNES .- Left an orphan by the death of his father when he was seven years old, and compelled to "rustle" at an early age, George W. Barnes, of Norris, in Madison county, has seen enough of hardship and privation in life to develop the endurance, self-reliance and readiness for any emergency that may come to the best elements of American citizenship, and have given him success and prosperity. He was born in Sandusky county, Ohio, January 19, 1836, a son of Sardis G. and Minerva (Jillett) Barnes, also na- tives of Ohio. After the death of his father, in 1843, his mother removed with her young family to Iowa, locating at Muscatine, where she remained until 1847, when she remarried and removed to Cheboygan, Mich., some time later changing her residence to Reedburg, Sauk county, Wis., where she spent the rest of her days.

Mr. Barnes remained with the family until 1854, and was then employed in the neighborhood of their home. In 1859 he started for Pike's Peak, but changed his mind and went to Jacksonville, Ore., instead, and remained there until 1862, engaged in mining with moderate success. He then joined the Idaho stampede, and made the trip without incident worthy of note, remaining in the new grounds until 1871, when he came to Montana, locating at Norris, where he took up land and engaged in stock raising.

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

During the first excitement at Pony in 1876 he re- moved to that place and remained three years, meet- ing with good success and securing interests in sev- eral properties. These he sold at good prices, but was unable to get all of his money. He returned to his ranch and after some time there went back to Pony and put in three years running a mill for the late Henry Elling, at the same time conducting a profitable hotel business. He did well in both enterprises, and when he tired of the work, sold out and returned to his ranch once more, and has since lived and prospered there.

Mr. Barnes has a fine body of 1,500 acres of land which he owns, and has besides a section leased for grazing purposes. His chief industry is raising superior herds of Hereford cattle, with the hay necessary for their sustenance. He is very success- ful at the business, his output being renowned in the markets and his ranch having a high standing throughout the cattle raising industry in this section of the country. A portion of his land is well irri- gated, and he has brought it to a high state of cul- tivation. He was married April 19, 1871, to Miss Annie Peterson, who came to America with her parents from Sweden when she was young. Her father, Jacob Peterson, was a prosperous farmer in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have one child, a son, George S. Barnes, who lives in Wisconsin. Mr. Barnes was elected county commissioner in 1888, and re-elected in 1890. He has been a school trustee for many years. His fine residence, excel- lent barns and other outbuildings, and the general character and appearance of his homestead, as well as the common consent of his neighbors and fel- low citizens, proclaim him a progressive, enterpris- ing business man, a public spirited citizen, an effi- cient public official, and a good friend and neighbor.

H ON. JOSEPH K. TOOLE .- The final causes which shape the fortunes of individual men and the destinies of states are often the same. They are usually remote and obscure; their influ- ence wholly unexpected until declared by results. When they inspire men to the exercise of courage, self-denial, enterprise and industry, and call into play the higher moral elements-such causes lead to the planting of great states, great nations, great peoples. That nation is greatest which produces the greatest men, and its safety depends not so much upon methods and measures as upon that true

manhood from whose deep sources all that is prec- ious and permanent in life must at last proceed. Such a result may not be consciously contemplated by the individuals instrumental in the production of a great state or nation. Pursuing each his per- sonal good by exalted means, this follows their work as a logical conclusion. They have wrought on the lines of greatest good. Among those who have been important factors in the public, profes- sional and civic history of Montana a place of dis- tinction must be accorded to its present governor, Joseph Kemp Toole, who has been called a second time to serve in the most exalted office in the gift of the people of the commonwealth, and who is known as one of the most eminent members of the bar of a state which has been from the first sig- nally favored in the personnel of its legists and jur- ists.

Joseph Kemp Toole is a native of Missouri, hav- ing been born in Savannah, Andrew county, on May 12, 1851. His parents, Edwin and Lucinda (Porter) Toole, were born in Kentucky, the former in 1808 and the latter in 1812, the ancestors on either side having been among the early settlers in this country, while records extant show that Benja- min Porter, the grandfather of the governor in the cognatic line, was in active service in the Con- tinental army during the American revolution. Ed- win and Lucinda S. Toole became the parents of ten children, six of whom, four 'sons and two daughters, are living, and all are residents of Mon- tana. Joseph K. Toole was reared to maturity in his native state, having the advantages of a cul- tured and refined home and receiving his prelimin- ary educational discipline in the public schools, after which he entered the Western Military Institute, at Newcastle, Ky., where he graduated with high honors, after which he remained in Newcastle, where he began his work of technical preparation for his chosen vocation, by reading law in the office of Webb & Barber, distinguished members of the Kentucky bar, the latter having been a member of the court of appeals and having prepared a digest of its rulings. In 1869 Mr. Toole came to Mon- tana, locating in Helena, where he continued his study of the law in the office of his brother, Edwin W. Toole, being admitted to the bar of the state in 1870. after which he entered into a professional partnership with his brother, under the name of Toole & Toole. This alliance continued for a num- ber of years, the firm retaining a representative cli- entage and being concerned in much of the impor-

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

tant litigation in the courts until 1884, when the partnership was dissolved.

Politically Governor Toole has always rendered a staunch allegiance to the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and has been one of its most eloquent and talented advocates. It is recog- nized throughout the state and by all political ele- ments, that his services in that direction have been invaluable. Several of his speeches are master- pieces of eloquence and stand unrivalled in logical deduction and masterly presentation of the points at issue between the parties. In 1872 he was elected district attorney for the Third judicial district, being chosen without opposition as his own successor at the election of 1874. In 1881 Governor Toole was chosen to represent Lewis and Clarke county in the Twelfth legislative assembly of the territory and was accorded the highest honor of being chosen to the presidency of that body. Of the first consitu- tional convention held in the territory of Montana, int 1884, when were adopted the preliminary meas- ures looking to the admission of the territory into the sisterhood of states, he was a prominent and in- fluential member. He was elected to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth congresses of the United States, declin- ing nomination for a third term. In 1889 he served with distinction in the constitutional convention which formulated the present admirable constitution of the commonwealth, and within the same year he was elected the first governor of the new state, being the only Democrat on the ticket to receive elective endorsement at the polls. He served one term, after which he resumed his legal practice in Helena, and thus continued employed until the exi- gencies of political expediency led to his being placed in nomination a second time for the guberna- torial office in the fall of 1900, when he was trium- phantly returned to the chief executive position in the government of the state, and is now in office.

The congressional career of Governor Toole was eminently brilliant. While in the house he took a deep interest in the welfare of the whole country, but especially in the state of his adoption, which had so highly honored him. In securing the passage of the bill for the admission of Montana to statehood he displayed forensic ability of a high order. The speech was logical and exhaustive, covering all dis- puted points and throwing upon the question a flood of direct illumination concerning the resources of the territory in whose welfare he was so deeply interested and of whose possibilities he had full prescience. This effort, a most talented and felici-

tous one, was freely commented upon and warmly commended. It is but consistent that in this con- nection there be made excerpts from this speech, since in it are denoted many of the salient points advanced and they show the effective diction and dialectic power of the author :

"Mr. Speaker: In conclusion I want to go on record as a warm advocate of the section of this bill which provides for the admission of other ter- ritories whenever they shall have reached a popu- lation sufficient to entitle them to a representative in congress according to the present ratio of repre- sentation. New states add to the glory and dignity of the republic. Their admission ought to be pro- vided for here and now. Nothing ought longer to be left to implication. No condition of things ought to be permitted whereby this inestimable right shall be made to yield to policy or expediency in the future; the rights involved are too sacred to be made subservient to the will and pleasure of the petulant and prurient partisan. I have no fear of the character of their citizenship; they are faith- ful and prompt in the discharge of every duty. No jurisdiction covering the same extent of territory and embracing the same number of people, can boast .of less crime and vice among its citizens. I speak with some means of information and with some feeling on this question. More than half of my life has been spent among the kind of men who people these territories. I know their stern integ- rity and rugged honesty, their capacity for local self-government, and their deep devotion to the

principles of our institutions.

Upon this important question I beg you to make no mistake. Do not dam up the river of progress. Do not obstruct the march of American manhood toward the destiny contemplated by the constitu- tion. Popular development and popular govern- ment have made us powerful and great among the nations of the earth, but we have not yet reached the zenith of our power and greatness. Let us re- member that delays are dangerous; that now is the time and here the place to provide the way by which eight new stars may be added to the flag, and two millions of our countrymen in the territories shall be enfranchised ; and then rest assured that the wisdom and patriotism of our course will be vindi- cated by the deliberate judgment of mankind."

Governor Toole was at one time a member of the State Arid Land Grant Commission, resigning as its president within his term, but still continuing to serve as a member for a time, ultimately resign-

PROGRESSIVE MEN OF MONTANA.

ing the position. He was vice-president from Mon- tana of the commission appointed to the Pan-Amer- ican congress that convened at Buffalo, N. Y., in 1901, in connection with the exposition in that city. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, being a past master of Helena Lodge No. 3, A. F. & A. M. On May 6, 1890, Governor Toole was united in marriage to Miss Lilly Rosecrans, daugh- ter of Gen. William Starke Rosecrans, the hero of Chickamauga and many other important engage- ments of the Civil war and later minister to Mex- ico. His death occurred in California in 1899. Gov- ernor and Mrs. Toole became the parents of three children, Rosecrans, who died in California in 1898 at the age of seven years; Edwin Warren, born July 5, 1893, and Joseph Porter, December 2,

IS96. In conclusion it may truthfully be said that one can scarcely pay too high a tribute to the character of Gov. Toole. Few men have a stronger hold upon the hearts of the people of Montana and this he has apart from and without regard to political partisanship or party bias. Modest in his demeanor, courteous and cultured in his personal intercourse with all, he has achieved the highest positions in the gift of the peo- ple by the most admirable qualities of character and by an ability which has been equal to every demand. In the annals of Montana he will stand as one of her most distinguished citizens and able and upright public men.

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Progressive men of the state of Montana, pt 1, Part 7

Author: Bowen, A.W., & Co., firm, publishers, Chicago Publication date: [19-?] Publisher: Chicago : A. W. Bowen & Co. Number of Pages: 1374

Author: Bowen, A.W., & Co., firm, publishers, Chicago
Publication date: [19-?]
Publisher: Chicago : A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1374